The Toll of Protecting and Serving: Treating Concurrent Moral Injury and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Male Police Officers

Police officers who experience a potentially morally injurious event (PMIE) may experience moral injury (MI) if the event is not processed with the officers' support systems. MI causes a dichotomy between one's actions, or inactions, and one's morality. When left unaddressed, MI can occur concurrently with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is no evidence-based intervention to address MI with police officers. Because of the clinical overlap between MI and PTSD and their often simultaneous occurrence, social workers can alter trauma-focused interventions to address MI more effectively. This paper presents a case study, a method that allows for descriptive exploration of the clinical experiences of clients. This case study explores how the modification and application of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) can treat both sets of MI and PTSD symptoms in Hispanic male police officers and support the need for social worker innovation.